My first fanfiction, so please be easy on me, though I do appreciate criticism :3 Not a one-shot, it will update.

Spoilers for... a lot. Just finish the show. Takes place in the Brotherhood timeline.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, and I'm glad, because I couldn't beat what an amazing job Arakawa-san did with it :3

You poor, pathetic fool.

The stocky figure of the Freezing Alchemist, Isaac McDougal, stood against the towering wave of ice behind him, his eyes angry and determined.

He knew. He was the most adept of the assembly that was sent to Ishval. He had found out the problem with the military even before Hughes did.

There was no stopping now, though. It had to be done.

Colonel Roy Mustang's thoughts were interrupted by the jet of high-pressure water across his face as McDougal destroyed the pipe that ran on top of the roof and jumped down the side of the building.

Forgot about that.

"Everyone, search for him!" he ordered the soldiers behind him. "Don't let him reach the Command Center!"

The soldiers ran off in pursuit of McDougal. Roy stood there for a second, irritated, his soaked hair dripping into his face, and started to carefully make his way down the fire escape.

-x-x-

"You go through hell and come out through heaven. It's equivalent exchange."

Roy stared at the immense gate that towered over him. A hazy body sat in front of it. The Truth.

So this was what the Elric brothers had seen. Beyond the Gate... the laws that made up existence. Worlds, beings, and lore... all of the knowledge of the universe was held inside. And after they had beheld the wisdom inside, the boys had to pay, by losing parts of themselves.

Roy braced himself for the worst, glaring at the white figure in front of him. The Truth stood up, and, despite having no apparent eyes, Roy felt as though it was staring at him eagerly.

"This will bring you a happy ending."

The body in front of him didn't have a mouth either, but it was speaking, and with Roy's own voice.

"All of the guilt and regret will be changed to joy and peace."

Suddenly, a mouth did appear, and broke into an inhuman and frightening grin.

"You don't understand, do you? Even when you get out of here and start leading the country, attending your wedding, holding your kids, everything that should make you happy, you'll still wonder, 'what could have been?', won't you? You'll keep blaming yourself for the things you did in the past-"

"Let me out of here."

Roy glared at the humanoid before him. He thought back to the struggle going on outside of the Gate. He had to check on the status of the coup happening above ground, he had to get Riza to the hospital- the blood loss from her slashed neck put her in even more danger than the rest of them- and he had to make sure the Elric brothers didn't get killed.

The Truth laughed, as though sensing his tense thoughts. "Don't worry, everyone will be alright. You could stay in here until your hair grows to your shoulders and everybody would still be safe. Now..."

The smile grew impossibly wider.

"You've opened the Gate, and there's a price for that. You're the sort of man who looks forward to a bright and happy future to escape from the past. So, I believe the best price for you to pay is to relive the past."

"You're going to reverse time? Is that even possible?" Roy asked.

"No, I'm going to put you in another world, the same as this one, but fake. A replica, basically. If you want to leave that realm, and come back to this happy reality, you'll have to create the experience again."

"You expect me to recreate what I can't even remember?"

"I don't expect you to be capable of doing that." The infuriating grin was still creeping up.

"And what are you trying to get out of this?"

"It's simple: equivalent exchange. You must pay the price for seeing inside the Gate. And besides..." that goddamn smile, not showing any sign of relenting, "I want to see if that's possible for someone like you."

That's it? Roy thought as he looked at the blank body in front of him. As displeasing the thought of reliving his petty missions and paperwork sounded, he knew it couldn't be as simple as it seemed. He tried his best to mentally peer into the intentions of the figure before him. In the back of his mind, Roy was already forming his own ideas about the true meaning of the 'price' that was offered, but at the moment, he was only concerned about the fight going on outside. And, with the intention of rejoining the battle, he looked straight at the Truth and smirked.

"Send me off, then. I have no problem feeling a little pain if it means creating a world of happiness."

The Truth stood up at this and gestured towards the gate. The doors swung open, the mass of shadows inside swirling quickly, as though anticipatory.

"Then I wish you good luck, Roy."

And that was the last thing the Flame Alchemist heard before being clutched by the shadows and dragged back into the gate again.

-x-x-

The extremely loud voice of the Strong-Arm Alchemist broke through Roy's deep thoughts. The sound of rifles being fired, the red glow of McDougal's activating transmutation circles, frantic soldiers calling out orders... they were all part of the debt he had to pay.

He gripped the railings of the fire escape and tried to get himself to the ground without slipping on the wet soles of his boots. He had to confront the Freezing Alchemist and let him escape to where his old war comrade would be killed by the Führer, and Central would return to normal, at least for a time. These sorts of things were easy enough to reenact, the usual missions that his command was ordered to do. But there had been far worse things to act oblivious to, and he had to prepare for what was yet to come.

Like I said, criticism is well appreciated. Please tell me what I'm doing wrong :3